Thank you for dropping by my Raising Jane Journal to participate in my giveaways! We’ve chosen a winner for this giveaway already (click here for details), but don’t be afraid to leave a comment anyway. I love reading them. And stay tuned for more great MaryJanesFarm giveaways.

In the Apr/May issue of MaryJanesFarm, on newsstands March 6, you’ll see how Megan converted an old wicker bassinet into living-room picnic-gear storage that now holds a picnic quilt, a couple of pillows, and board games for the perfect indoor picnic.

In the photo above, you’ll see my MaryJane’s Home “”Busy Bee” quilt and pillow with my favorite patchwork shape, the hexagon. Why a hexagon? The hexagon, a shape that speaks the zen of the busy beehive or the wired manors of chickens (the oldest domesticated animal on Earth), symbolizes the unity and structure of the farmgirl life—a framework for the proper order of things, a pattern for life. In unwritten feminine language, it is a standard for farmgirls, or for that matter, the ordinary honeybee or the hen, rank and file workers that move the work along. It says that all things are to be done decently and in order, and that small things add up.

For a chance to win one of our “Busy Bee” twin quilts and matching 16″-square pillows, tell me all about your favorite picnic experience in the comments below. I’ll toss your name into a hat and draw a lucky winner sometime mid-May.

Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways. If you’re not yet a subscriber to my magazine, MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for $19.95/year.

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The winner of our MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook giveaway is Jeannie Keeffe, who said in response to our question, “Tell me what at MaryJanesFarm has inspired you … magazine, books, products, chatroom, or journal”:

“Am hoping not to be judged by MY cover, too.

I’ve been a country girl (a red-dirt girl) all my life. Growing up with parents that grew their own rabbits & chickens both for the freezer, show, and of course, eggs. Some years we’d have a cow for milk, but the goats were easier to keep, would eat the poison oak, and the milk … MmmMmm good … oh, and they loved to show off at the fair. Pigeons for squab which I thought everyone ate until later in my life. Ponds to swim and fish in, horses to ride & show, 1/4-acre garden where dad would be found sitting and watching—a place I would enjoy a one-on-one with, a place I learned to eat fresh foods that tasted so marvelous (before cooked by mom, who often cooked things to death). Looking back at my life with Mom & Dad is heartwarming. So a book with an Old Look that is filled with surprises would be wonderful to have.”

Congratulations, Jeannie! Watch for an email from the farm.

Thank you to the 325 women who responded with such lovely comments. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them! Continue reading →

Thank you for dropping by my Raising Jane Journal to participate in my giveaways! We’ve chosen a winner for this giveaway already (click here for details), but don’t be afraid to leave a comment anyway. I love reading them. And stay tuned for more great MaryJanesFarm giveaways.

This copy of my first book, MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook: For the Farmgirl in All of Us, was in our store window and ended up with a sun-faded cover.

But its insides are like new, and as every farmgirl knows, it’s never good to judge a book by its cover. Better to judge it from some of its online reviews, like this one from Amazon’s “Never Enough Books”:

“I’ve been a farmgirl, citygirl, tried the Mother Earth News route years ago, so it was with some skepticism that I checked out this book from my library. Don’t be put off by the reference to “Martha Stewart of the West” because the only similarity I can see is that both Martha Stewart and MaryJane Butters are hard-working women. I don’t think I have ever before read any non-fiction book as closely and with as much pleasure as MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook. I couldn’t be satisfied with the library’s copy, but had to have my own, plus ordered one for my daughter-in-law. The pictures are beautiful, from antique implements to happy people. The verbal sketches of family, friends, and helpers is uplifting.

What struck me most about Butters was her positive attitude. She advocates organic farming and living, but rather than trying to force others to conform to her way of thinking and doing, she found ways to work with local farmers. In using local products, she has connected growers with consumers and built a business for herself, family, and friends.

I’d rate this right up there with Aldo Leopold and Sand County Almanac.”

To lay claim to this (sun-faded) copy, tell me what at MaryJanesFarm has inspired you … magazine, books, products, chatroom, or journal. We’ll put your names in a basket and pull out a lucky winner sometime soon. Check back to see if it’s headed your way.

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